Where's the 'eau' in Lambeau? By Tom Murphy News-Chronicle Hey, Bob Harlan, we know a good way to solve the demand for a drink of water from Packers fans at Lambeau Field. Have Nicolet National, the bottled water people in Crivitz you count on to be one of your big advertisers/sponsors, strategically place a five or six dozen of their largest portable units in the lower concourse. In the league opener a year ago, it was a humid 90-degrees plus. It was almost the same for Mike Sherman's debacle vs. the Vikings this year. Everyone sweltered: players, fans, officials and free loaders alike. We had a friend with a splitting headache. Fortunately she had ample medication to offset the pain. But no water with which to swallow the pills. There was not a "bubbler" to be found. There was not a drop to drink unless one paid an exhorbitant $3 for a 20-ounce bottle containing .02 cents worth of water. Sometimes testy concession workers (yes, we know they are volunteers raising funds for their PTO or Scout troup or Altar Society) declined to offer our friend a drink. The workers said cups were a form of inventory control and they could not fill them with free water. Shame on you, Levy Concessions. Only after incessant, and often loud, demands, our friend got the water. It came from a faucet behind the counter. We wrote a column on the issue at the time. We'd like to think it helped result in the mandate from Packers brass that small cups of water be dispensed on request at concession stands. The mandate is on Page 13 of the 2003 Season Ticket Holder Handbook mailed in late August. In a recent news story, Packers President and CEO Harlan said the mandate was in effect last year. We wonder. If it was, the edict never trickled down to the worker bees. Harlan also said permanent water fountains (yes, "bubblers") were not installed in the lower concourse of the renovated and expanded Lambeau Field because use was minimal and they froze over come November. Pardon us, Bob, but at $3 a pop the logic doesn't hold water. Enter Nicolet Natural. They'll get more bang for their buck than just the game's "water boy" who retrieves the tee after the first kickoff of each game. A dozen or two of the stand-alone portable jugs of the Marinette County artesian water, with inexpensive paper cups, would do the trick. If golf courses can indulge in them, so can the Packers and Lambeau Field. MORE ON 'U' PAY WE PAY We recently commented on the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents "panic" because two of its campus chancellors were leaving for greener pastures. They should, we concluded, look inside. It's likely they would find capable, accountable and less expensive replacements inside their own system. But Regents President Toby Marcovich, a lawyer from Superior, pushed the button. He feared an exodus of talent. We countered that it was simply a case of personnel moving up the career ladder. It was not solely a pay issue. So what does Marcovich do? He calls a teleconference for regents to vote on pay wage increases for UW system administrators - two days before a regular meeting of the 17-person board. Normally we don't cry about meetings of government or quasi-government units which are not publicized to each and everyone in the media. Reporters who know how to cover their beats are aware. At a minimum they inform their superiors; at max, they cover the beat like they own it and owe it to their readers. Not so in this case. Reporters were hardly given a chance by Marcovich. Normally agendas are sent to the media, notice is posted on the system's website and a press release is issued with the requisite who, what, where, when and why. Written notice of the meeting was "posted" in two places in Madison. And a legal notice was published in the Wisconsin State Journal over Labor Day weekend. Any readers? Of the 17 regents, six did not take part in the teleconference. Of the 11 on the conference call, three requested they be recorded as abstaining. That leaves eight of 17. That's a definitive minority approving the pay range increases. And they did it by voice vote! As an attorney, Marcovich obviously is well-versed on open meetings laws. He met the bare minimum. He did not meet the bare minimum of good faith. For this he should be questioned by his peers in the legal profession. It may not be a matter for the State Bar Association ethics people. But it certainly is a matter for the State Legislature. Especially since it was a plaiin minority who appoved the increases. We're glad to see State Sens. Rob Cowles of Green Bay and Mike Ellis of Neenah are among those leading the way. Cowles said if the raises were not rescinded, the Legislature should look at restoring oversight of such activity. Ellis, seldom at a loss for the acerbic, said "Words like 'arrogant,' 'shocking,' and 'stupid' don't even begin to describe this vote. "At a time when the university and the state are enduring a massive economic and budget crisis, when university students and their families have been hit with unprecedented tuition and fee increases, for the regents to take this action is astounding." This part of the UW System needs fixing. Badly. Quickly. Curbside: The Allouez Village Board, prone recently to taking the wrong fork in the road, ought not to long debate the options for siting a new village hall. The most feasible appears to be just north of Allouez Plaza Mall. There's nearly six acres available. In fact, the board should inquire about outright purchase of the north part of the mall (formerly Spike's Hardware) to help reduce building costs. Murphy, a longtime local business writer, writes a weekly column for This Week. Contact him by calling 920-432-2941, sending mail to P.O. Box 2467, Green Bay, WI 54306-2467 or by sending e-mail to [email protected].